1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection terminal of a semiconductor device having a circuit in a case.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional semiconductor device, there is such a semiconductor device as connection terminals thereof are individually used when parts of a circuit contained in a case are evaluated in characteristic, while the same are used with short-circuited each other when the semiconductor device is properly used (referred to as "a practical use" below).
FIGS. 12 to 15 are views showing such conventional connection terminals of a semiconductor device. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the connection terminals before connection in a practical use, FIG. 13 is a plan view of the connection terminals after connection in a practical use, FIG. 14 is a perspective view of FIG. 12, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along the line A--A of FIG. 13. As shown in these figures, a semiconductor device I is provided with a plurality of male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . projecting outward from a side wall of a case 1. The male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . are electrically connected individually to parts of a circuit (not shown) provided in the case 1. In these figures, however, two male terminals 2a and 2b are conveniently shown, and illustration of other male terminals is omitted. Each of the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . has a hole 3 in its center and has a difference in width to make stoppers 4 on the both side edges.
On the other hand, female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . for a practical use are provided corresponding to the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . . Two female terminals 5a and 5b, for example, are mutually short-circuited by a wire 6. Each of the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . includes a center piece 7, spring pieces 8 extended so as to be curved inwardly from the both sides of the center piece 7 and a projection 9 provided on the upper surface of the center piece 7.
In the semiconductor device I having the connection terminals structured as stated above, a characteristic evaluation of the circuit contained in the case 1 is carried out by using an evaluation test device 10 as shown in FIG. 16, for example. First, the semiconductor device I is positioned on a stage 12 by a positioning member 11. Then a probe supporting plate 13 is lowered so that the tips of probes 14a, 14b, . . . come in contact with the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . , respectively. In the case that a part of the circuit connected to the male terminal 2a is evaluated in the characteristic under the circumstance, a signal is transmitted between the part of the circuit and a tester (not shown) through the probe 14a connected to the male terminal 2a. Similarly, in the case that a part of the circuit connected to the male terminal 2b is evaluated in the characteristic, a signal is transmitted between the part of the circuit and the tester (not shown) through the probe 14b.
When the semiconductor device I whose characteristic evaluation test in each part of the circuit is completed is practically used, the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . are connected to the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . as shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the semiconductor device I is used in such situation as the male terminals 2a and 2b are short-circuited through the female terminals 5a and 5b and the wire 6. In this case, when the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . are inserted to the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . , the leading edges of the spring pieces 8 are engaged with the stoppers 4 to control the insertion amount in the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . , and further, the projection 9 is engaged with the hole 3 to prevent the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . from coming off the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . . Spring force of the spring pieces 8 makes the spring pieces 8 of the female terminals 5a and 5b and the center piece 7 hold the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . therebetween, and the male terminals 2a, 2b, . . . and the female terminals 5a, 5b, . . . are connected in a good contact.
As has been described, in the conventional construction of the connection terminal of the semiconductor device, a plurality of the male terminals 2a and 2b are provided allowing for characteristic evaluation of each part of the circuit contained in the case 1, while in a practical use, a plurality of the female terminals 5a and 5b which are short-circuited by the wire 6 are provided corresponding to the male terminals 2a and 2b. Therefore, the conventional connection terminal has a disadvantage that the number of terminals are increased to make the device large.